head to head · open source
Backlog.md vs nimbalyst
Backlog.md has 7,273 GitHub stars, 480 forks, 55 open issues and last shipped 7 days ago. nimbalyst has 2,020 stars, 328 forks, 642 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Backlog.md leads on adoption by 260% (7,273 vs 2,020 stars). Backlog.md is written in TypeScript under MIT; nimbalyst is written in TypeScript under MIT. Backlog.md has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, nimbalyst 16%. nimbalyst was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (agentic-ai), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
← all 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| Backlog.md | nimbalyst | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 7.3K | ★ 2.0K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-10-29 | 2026-11-03 |
| Forks | ⑂ 480 | ⑂ 328 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Backlog.md if
- You weight community size — 7.3K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick nimbalyst if
- You want the nimbalyst feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and nimbalyst fits your workflow better
About Backlog.md
Backlog.md Markdown‑native Task Manager & Kanban visualizer for any Git repository AI agents write the code. You review the tasks: before, during, and after. npm i g backlog.md Backlog.md turns any folder into a self‑contained project board powered by plain Markdown files and a zero‑config CLI. Why Backlog.md in the AI era AI agents can now produce more plausible code in an hour than you can carefully read in a day. The bottleneck is no longer writing code. It's your attention. You can't meaningfully review 15,000 generated lines in one sitting, but you can read a screenful of task specs with acceptance criteria…
read the full Backlog.md overview →
About nimbalyst
Nimbalyst: Open source visual workspace for building with Codex, Claude Code, OpenCode, and other coding agents. Work on everything in one place: sessions, worktrees, tasks, docs, diagrams, mockups, commits, and code. Visually editable. Deeply linked. Free and MIT licensed. Desktop app for macOS, Windows, and Linux, with an iOS companion app. Website · Download · Documentation · Discord What you get Visual editing of the agent's work. WYSIWYG editors for markdown, mockups, Mermaid, Excalidraw, CSV, data models, and code in Monaco. You and the coding agent edit the same files. Red/green diff review. Step through…
read the full nimbalyst overview →
More in Business Software
Related comparisons
More Project & Work Management projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Project & Work Management field.
Frequently asked questions
Is Backlog.md or nimbalyst more popular?
Backlog.md has 7,273 GitHub stars and nimbalyst has 2,020. Backlog.md has the larger community by that measure.
Are Backlog.md and nimbalyst free?
Both are open source. Backlog.md is licensed under MIT and nimbalyst under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Backlog.md and nimbalyst?
Backlog.md is written in TypeScript and nimbalyst in TypeScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Backlog.md or nimbalyst?
Choose Backlog.md if you want the larger community (7,273 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose nimbalyst if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.